Antics of Starfire
by funvince
Summary: When they aren't fighting crime, the Titans are just a regular group of teens. A group with their own alien, of course. See the life of Starfire at the Tower. Multiple oneshots.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Teen Titans_ or any of the characters associated within. Unfortunately.

**­**

**The Antics of Starfire**

_By funvince_

**A Teen Titans Fanfic**

Chapter 1: Puddings-

It started out so normally.

Starfire spun around the Main Room, her hands coupled in glee.

"Friends, we must celebrate our defeat of Mod the Mad! I will go and make the Pudding of Happiness!"

The Titans cringed.

Robin rubbed the back of his head. "Um, Star? Why don't we just get pizza?"

"Oka…" Starfire started to agree then she paused. A slight frown appeared on her pretty features. "Robin, why is it every time I suggest creating a food from my home planet we end up eating pizza?"

Robin looked helplessly at his teammates. This wasn't going according to the script.

Beast Boy spoke up timidly. "Dude, to be fair, you forced the Pudding of Sadness down all our throats at some point and it was pretty terrible..."

Starfire was so shocked that she was forced to land. "The Pudding of Sadness is _supposed_ to taste terrible. That is what makes it so sad! It is, as you say, 'food to fit the mood.' "

A hurt look came over her face. "That is why you avoid my cooking? You have assumed that all Tamaranian food is... bad?"

"Star..." Robin said, concerned.

Starfire raised her green, glowing eyes and clenched her fists. "You have maligned the cuisine of my home! You must be shown the error of your ways!"

The alien girl flew out of the room.

Beast Boy turned to Cyborg and asked, "Should we be scared?"

The kitchen area was closed off for the next two days as non-stop banging and blending sounds emanated from it. Beast Boy and Cyborg were reduced to trying to raid Robin's personal fridge while the Boy Wonder fought them off and lectured them on the importance of being prepared for anything.

"Shut up, Rob! We're not all paranoid nutcases like you!" Cyborg cried.

"Yeah, that's the way to butter me up," Robin retorted sarcastically. He forced the android back with a twirl of his bo-staff.

A green mouse took the opportunity to race for the door to Robin's room.

Without even looking, Robin threw a flash disc over his shoulder.

FLASH!

Beast Boy slammed into a wall. He shifted back to his normal state and covered his watering eyes. "Dude! That was _cold_. We're starving, you tyrant!"

"I don't even _have_ any tofu!" Robin snapped. "Why don't you guys order a pizza?"

"We don't have that kind of patience! Why won't you just give us some food?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!"

Raven, who was fed up with this nonsense, went to the kitchen. She saw Starfire frantically stirring a bowl. She was wearing a pink apron and a matching chef hat and she was covered in flour.

Raven resisted the urge to shudder at the cuteness. She said, "Starfire, it's becoming _Lord of the Flies_ out there. Please tell me that you're almost done."

"Fear not, Friend Raven! Soon we will feast like the outdated monarchy and the boys can leave the poor flying insects alone."

Staring doubtfully at the purple sludge the alien was stirring, Raven made one last attempt to convince her friend that this wasn't the best idea. "Why is this so important to you? None of us was trying to hurt your feelings, you know."

Starfire sighed. "I know. But if I can eat Terran food then surely there must be something from my world that I can share with my friends."

"Star, you drink _mustard_."

Raven's violet eyes were met by green, soulful ones. Starfire said, "All of you are my best friends and I am always joyful to learn more about your culture and customs. I just wish to educate you more on mine."

The blue-haired girl drew her cloak around herself. She said, "Very well. But I don't intend to participate. I hope you aren't offended."

Starfire's eyes widened. "Oh, I would take no offense. I would be content merely with your presence. I would not wish to upset your emotional sensibilities. I know that any attempt to 'scribble you out' causes you to become... um..."

"Bitchy?" Raven suggested.

"I do not see what female canines have to do with the matter," Starfire replied, confused.

Raven smirked.

* * *

"No fair!" Beast Boy wailed. "Why does Raven get to live? Uh, I mean, miss out on the delectable delights?"

Cyborg snorted. "Nice save, man."

Starfire ignored the commentary and passed out the bowls of purple sludge. She stood back with a beaming smile and clasped hands. "Enjoy the Pudding of Happiness!"

"Looks good," Robin said with a smile. He discretely stuck a R-analyzer into the bowl to determine the chemical composition of the sludge.

Beast Boy whispered, "Anybody know an animal that doesn't have any taste buds?"

Cyborg whispered back, "I'm just glad that I literally do have an iron stomach."

Starfire's smile became a little strained. "Friend Terra never had any problem with my food."

"I'm pretty certain that Terra ate bugs too," Cyborg replied. "She had weird taste, y'all." He gave a pointed look at the green changeling next to him.

"Hey!"

Raven glared at the boys from behind her cup of herbal tea. "Isn't it a bit premature to complain _before_ trying it?"

"Easy for _you_ to say!" Beast Boy cackled.

Robin who was tired of the bickering and worried about how depressed Starfire was looking threw caution to the wind and pushed his friends' faces into the sludge.

Then he sat back down and ate a spoonful.

Beast Boy pulled his head out of the bowl and gasped for air. He waved his arms frantically and cried, "I'm melting! Melting!" Then he blinked, scraped some pudding off his face, and sucked it off his finger. "Hey, this is good!"

"It's like a rainbow in my mouth!" Cyborg exclaimed, shoveling the contents of his bowl down.

"Glorious! I am most happy that I no longer feel like causing you grievous bodily harm," Starfire said, smiling with her eyes closed.

The other Titans, even Raven, grew a sweatdrop.

"Looks like we owe you an apology," Robin said, waving a spoon. "I'm just surprised that it took you two days to make this."

Starfire giggled. She said, "No, that only took half of a Terran hour. _This_ took the rest of the time."

She yanked the fridge open revealing shelves bursting with bowls and plates.

The three crime-fighters had the sinking feeling that not everything in the refrigerator was going to be 'glorious.'

"Your planet sure has a thing for puddings," Beast Boy said weakly.

It wasn't so bad at first. Just as the Eskimos had at least a dozen words for snow, so did the Tamaranians have at least 60 variants of joy and a pudding to go along with it.

The Pudding of Delight was... well, delightful. Such was the case with the Puddings of Elation, Pleasantness, Glee, and Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy.

Starfire accidentally mixed up the recipes for Pudding of Friendly Love with the Pudding of Lustful Love, which contained a mild aphrodisiac and caused a few minutes of great discomfort for everyone involved.

The Pudding of Unbridled Enthusiasm caused Raven to look intensely at Starfire then at Beast Boy before she enveloped the bowl in black energy and threw it out the window. When asked to explain her actions, she proclaimed the pudding to be evil and refused to say any more.

But for the most part, these culinary creations were quite tasty and generated much laughter and happiness.

Then came the less cheerful puddings.

The Pudding of Anger had Cyborg and Beast Boy arm-wrestling over who would be forced to eat the last vile scoop.

"No gorilla's going to beat me!" Cyborg grunted while pushing his opponent's arm down.

Beast Boy turned into a green hippo and pinned Cyborg to the floor with one leg.

"No fair! I call foul!"

The Pudding of Disgust had the team vomiting in the barf bags that Starfire had helpfully provided.

The Pudding of Curiosity had a strange taste to it, which prompted Beast Boy to ask what was in it, ensuing further vomiting.

Looking greener than usual, Beast Boy gulped then asked, "Star, isn't curiosity supposed to be a good thing?"

Starfire shrugged. "There are actually two versions. My understanding was that on Earth curiosity was a hazardous thing. Does it not cause the death of many felines?"

The Titans actually looked forward to having the Pudding of Forgetfulness if only to forget the taste of prior puddings, but Starfire had forgotten to make it.

Everyone was too frightened to eat the Pudding of Fear. Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg loved Starfire, but nothing could make them eat something that gave off a sickly green glow and seemed to move when they weren't directly staring at it.

Finally, Starfire announced that there were no more puddings to be consumed. The male Titans gave huge sighs of relief.

"Oh, wait," Starfire said, tapping her chin with a finger. She turned toward the fridge. "There's still the Pudding of Impotence."

WHOOSH!

"What just happened?" Starfire asked the remaining occupant of the table.

"I think you meant Importance," Raven said in her usual monotone. But she couldn't quite suppress the twitching of her lips.

"Oops," Starfire replied with a blush. "My badness. Oh well. More for us, yes?"

"You're not fooling anyone, Star," Raven said with a slight grin. Then she paused before asking uncertainly, "Is there really a Pudding of Impotence?"

Starfire nodded. "Sometimes a woman just wants to sleep. Or so Mother tells me."

Raven glanced at the kitchen entrance. "I'm sorry that this didn't turn out the way that you planned. Maybe you should have stopped after the joyful puddings."

Starfire shook her head. She said, "The point was to teach them about Tamaranian culture. We believe that to experience the full extent of joy requires encountering some unpleasantness. If they had stayed for this pudding, they would have experienced joy again. But I'm sure they were quite happy when they were escaping."

"They were positively ecstatic," Raven said dryly.

"They stayed much longer than I thought they would." Starfire smiled broadly. "I have such great friends."

The alien girl held the bowl out to the other girl. "Can I interest you in a small taste of the Pudding of Importance? Or would that unbalance you?"

Raven took the bowl. She said, "It should be no problem. I always feel important. And yet the Tower is still standing."

Starfire giggled. Then the two girls enjoyed a nice bowl of pudding.

* * *

NEXT: All the Titans except Starfire come down with a serious fever. Our favorite alien's now in charge of their care. Will the Titans survive? Will Starfire?

Author's Note

This chapter was inspired by my wondering why aliens never have any problems with Earth food, but we humans apparently have weak stomachs when it comes to more 'exotic' fare.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Sick Days

"Achoo!"

The Tower was alive with the sounds of illness. No one knew who had originally brought in the bug or if they did know they were keeping silent. In any event, the disease had spread to everyone except Starfire by the end of the week.

Starfire didn't understand why she remained the only healthy Titan. Perhaps it was her Tamaranian physiology, but it was still very strange. Raven was half-demon, Cyborg barely had any human parts to infect, and Beast Boy's shapeshifting cells should have protected him.

But they were all at least partly human and perhaps that was enough.

Starfire walked into the Main Room with a tray of soup bowls and said wearily, "Friends, I have made the fowl soup for you. And vegetable soup for Beast Boy."

She stared at the chaos.

Robin was trying to chew through the masking tape bonds that were keeping him tied to the couch.

Beast Boy who was buried in a mountain of tissue paper was ringing his infernal bell and complaining that Raven had destroyed the television.

Cyborg had become extremely paranoid about viruses, computer or otherwise, since the 'Crash' incident. He was even more bizarre now that he was actually sick. He was surrounded by air sanitizers, wearing a gas mask, and muttering something about SARS and that the Martians were out to get him.

It was still an improvement on the Biohazard suit and aluminum foil hat he had been wearing earlier that week.

Raven was curled in a ball with a blanket wrapped around her blue nightgown shivering and sweating furiously at the same time. She desperately tried to meditate while tendrils of black energy radiated from her head destroying any fragile piece of furniture in its path.

"Azarath... Azarath... Azar, just kill me now," she moaned.

Starfire's eyebrow twitched.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy taking care of her friends. It was just that her friends have become 'just plain freaky.'

* * *

_Two weeks earlier..._

It was just shortly after the battle with the Punk Rocket that Robin came down with the sniffles.

Robin, being Robin, reacted predictably and insisted that he wasn't sick. And for a couple battles, he was as superb as ever, but he gradually began to slip.

The final straw broke in the battle with Mumbo Jumbo.

The mad magician cackled. "As you can see, there's nothing up my sleeves. But there's plenty in my hat!" He reached upward.

"Oh, _hell_ no! No more tutus!" Cyborg yelled, transforming his arm into his sonic cannon.

Before he could shoot, Robin threw a birdarang intending to break Mumbo Jumbo's wand. But weariness had taken a toll on his aim and he ended up slicing off Mumbo's white mustache. A hair's width further to the right and Mumbo Jumbo would have become Mumble Jumbo.

The magician fainted dead away.

It was a minor and harmless mistake, but it was the latest in a line of minor and harmless mistakes. Cyborg was forced to relieve the Boy Wonder of command.

The spiky-haired hero didn't take the news well. Actually, he went nuts and had to be restrained.

It was worrying. Robin could be a hothead, butt he usually knew better than to fight when he was less than 100 percent. While Batman would have kept on going even if he had two broken legs, a concussion, and a gut wound, he taught his partners better survival habits.

But fever had wracked the Boy Wonder's mind though his skills were almost as sharp as always.

Starfire had been forced to hide all his uniforms and utility belts, but Robin managed to escape the Tower five times dressed in black pajamas and armed with little more than a knife and fork.

In the latest escape, the other Titans were out on call and Starfire had to capture Robin alone.

"Robin, I do not want to fight you!" Starfire cried, dodging a swarm of chopsticks.

Robin hopped around the island like a grasshopper on steroids. Starfire finally cornered him against a corner of the garage.

Starfire flew at him at full speed. "I have you now!"

Out of options, Robin threw his secret weapon.

Starfire was hit in the face by a bottle of mustard.

"Ooh, honey dijon!"

While she was momentarily distracted, Robin dashed for his cycle. But he collapsed half-way to his goal.

Starfire gently picked the boy up and floated back into the Tower.

Robin had definitely seen better days. His hair lied flat on his head since Starfire in her enthusiasm had hidden his hair gel as well. His mask was held to his face by masking tape because his feverish sweating kept dissolving the adhesive.

"Star?"

"Yes, Robin?"

"I think I'm sick."

Starfire breathed a sigh of relief. Robin was in a lucid state again. It was unfortunate that it wouldn't last for long.

And indeed, a day later, Robin made another escape attempt using flour bombs and Beast Boy's video game controllers as nun-chuks.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the other Titans hadn't all gotten sick around the same time shortly after Robin did. The poor alien girl was now not only responsible for her friends' well-being but for the safety of the City as well.

It was enough to drive a Tamaranian mad.

* * *

RING! RING!

The door to Beast Boy's room flew off its hinges and a girl with glowing green eyes trudged in. With a smile that had just a tinge of mania to it, she said, "Can I help you, _friend_ Beast Boy? After all, it has only been two minutes since you last summoned me."

Beast Boy, whose survival instincts were lousy even when he was healthy, ignored the vein popping out of Starfire's head and asked, "Star, could you change the channel for me? I want to see the new _Clash of the Planets_."

_Must... think... happy... thoughts..._

"The remote is on the table next to you, is it not?" Starfire asked, hiding her clenched fists behind her back.

"Yeah, but I'm so _tired_," Beast Boy whined. He wrapped his blanket around his white undershirt and boxers that had little ducks on them. "I don't think I can reach for it."

_You seem to have no problem reaching for your bell..._

A look of horror washed over Starfire's face when she realized what mean, sarcastic thoughts she was having. She was turning into Raven!

She quickly changed the channel and fled to check on Cyborg. Making her way through the laser fire, avoiding the nets, and vaporizing the tranquilizers darts before they could reach her, she made it into Cyborg's room.

The blue, white, and brown behemoth snarled and threw CDs at her. She had deactivated his built-in weaponry a few days ago. Unfortunately, she was not able to lock him out of the Tower's defensive systems.

"Desist, Cyborg! I have to scan you to make sure the virus is not affecting your mechanical components!"

"I'm not letting you near me with your killer alien germs, Martian scum!" Cyborg screamed throwing a box of floppy diskettes at her.

"For the last time, I am _not_ a Martian!" Starfire shouted back.

"You're an alien, aren't you?"

Starfire was taken back. "Well, technically..."

"Then you have killer alien germs! Eat virus protection, you walking bioweapon!"

Starfire was hit in the face by a Norton Antivirus box.

* * *

After two days of Beast Boy's obnoxiousness, Cyborg's paranoia, and Robin's constant escape attempts, Starfire decided to group everyone into the Main Room so she wouldn't have to keep running around the Tower.

Robin had been forced into a straitjacket, had his legs manacled, and was now taped to the couch. Perhaps it was a bit much, but Starfire was tired of chasing him around the island.

Even in his delirium, Cyborg enjoyed video games. He kept swabbing his controller with alcohol wipes though. Beast Boy kept cackling over how he had never won this many times before. Since the two of them were too weak to play anything too adrenaline-pumping, they were playing an exciting game of Pong.

"I am the King of Pong!" Beast Boy cheered. He paused in thought. "Dude, that is _sad_."

Starfire briefly wondered why while two of her friends had gone more than slightly insane, Beast Boy wasn't drastically affected. Raven would undoubtedly say it was because the green boy didn't have a brain to affect.

Speaking of Raven, it was time to bring the girl down here, a task Starfire was quite wary about doing. In any other circumstance, the alien would have left the sorceress alone and continued treating her in her room as before. Raven was her least annoying patient after all.

But Raven was suffering the most from the disease and Starfire was worried about her. The dark girl was trying with all her might to keep her negative emotions and her powers under control, but that seemed to be making her symptoms worse.

Raven hadn't been able to keep anything solid down for days. She was much thinner than ever. She complained of body aches and the inability to sleep. She had also recently started coughing up blood. Raven desperately needed rest, but she also needed to maintain control.

It was a Catch-22. If Raven kept this suppression going, she would kill herself, but if she didn't she'd kill everyone in the Tower, _including_ herself.

Starfire gently placed a moist cloth on Raven's forehead and tried to coax her into eating some broth. It was a little disconcerting talking to Raven since her eyes were constantly glowing white now.

"If it was anyone else, I would hurt them severely for treating me like an invalid," Raven said in a stuffed-up voice.

"But you _are_ an invalid," Starfire commented, smiling as she got Raven to take a swallow.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Raven grumbled.

Starfire decided that this was a good a time as any to tell her about moving her out of her room.

"No! Absolutely not! Those idiot boys are bad enough when they're supposedly sane!"

The argument went downhill from there for the next half an hour. Raven kept insisting that she was isolating her for the safety of the Titans.

"How are we to know if you have become dangerous or have hurt yourself if you are in here alone?" Starfire shot back. "And have you not considered that my job would be easier if I did not have to run around our home?"

Raven wrapped herself deeper into her bed. "All very good arguments, Star. I'm sure that there are good ones against them, but I'm too tired to think of them. So just pretend that I did."

Starfire finally lost her patience with Raven. Living in this mental asylum for over a week with virtually no sleep and fighting all the supervillains that had popped up to take advantage of the Titans' absence had battered down her cheery disposition.

"Raven, if you do not come with me right now, I will paint your room pink and purple and I will braid your hair and make up your face while you are sleeping. Now, GET UP!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" Raven cried, struggling to get out of bed.

With Starfire propping her up, they slowly walked down the hallway. Raven turned to the taller girl. "I'm impressed. You do have a mean streak." She smiled evilly. "You're coming along nicely."

Then she fell into a coughing fit, which rather ruined the menacing look she was going for.

Starfire set up Raven with a mattress, a few pillows, and blankets in the corner of the living area. In a rare burst of insight, she also kindly provided Raven with some black earmuffs to block out the noise.

* * *

_Present..._

Starfire checked the bags under her eyes. She spoke to her image in the mirror. "It would be ironic if after surviving Slade, Warp, and the Mad Mod, it was my friends that caused me to expire from sleep deprivation."

She prided herself on seeing the bright side of things and never allowing anything to bring down her spirits for long, but she was only Tamaranian. She worried for her friends and she wondered if she was doing the right thing by following Robin's standing orders not to have the Titans checked by medical personnel.

The illness had only gotten worse. Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven were now sleeping soundly for the first time in a week, but that in itself was a cause for concern. Lacking extensive knowledge of Terran physiology, any change was worrisome.

She'd been keeping up a strong front for days, but in the privacy of her bedroom, she allowed herself to cry.

Her communicator beeped.

That was strange. The team at Titans East wasn't due back from their mission off-planet for another week. Starfire wiped away her tears then flipped the device open, revealing the face of someone she loved dearly but wished she would never see again.

"How are you doing, little sister?" Blackfire asked, smirking. "You're looking a little... what is the human saying? Under the weather."

"You are responsible for this!" Starfire yelled.

Blackfire winked. "Got it in one. Banishing me from Tamaran doesn't seem like quite a good idea any longer, does it?"

"It was either that or throwing you in the dungeons for the rest of your life," Starfire said stiffly. "An option that looks better and better."

"Where's that sunny outlook? One would think that you weren't happy to see me," Blackfire teased.

Starfire shook with anger. "If any of my friends are harmed..."

Blackfire waved her hand. "Relax. The virus should die out in another day or so. I just love making your life miserable." Her smile became cruel. "How did it feel knowing you could lose everything that made your life worth living at any instant?"

Starfire was happy that her friends weren't in any real danger, but she hurt knowing her sister despised her so much. She said, "Sister, I wish I knew why you have apparently dedicated your life to ruining mine, but I know you will not tell me. I also know that you will not stop, so I will not ask you to do so. But I must say one thing."

"And what is that?" Blackfire asked curiously.

"I do not care what you do to me," Starfire said softly. "Continue to create your devious plots if you must, but if you try to get at me through my friends again, I swear by X'hal that I will break every bone in your body then shave you bald."

"Do you kiss our mother with that mouth? As much as I love receiving death threats from family, I got hearts to break, star systems to plunder. You know how it is." Blackfire's voice tried to sound airy, but failed. Tamaranians prized their hair greatly and Starfire's promise obviously shook her.

Before Starfire could reply, she heard a female scream from the other side of the Tower.

"Raven!" Starfire cried. She glared at her communicator screen. "You said that the disease would not hurt her!"

Blackfire looked utterly confused. "It shouldn't! I don't understand..."

"You are no help at all!" Starfire shouted. She threw the communicator across the room then flew toward the Main Room.

A miniature tornado was swirling around the room with Raven in the epicenter. Raven was covered in black energy and her hair was standing straight up. She was rolled up in a ball and was screaming like the skin was being ripped from her body.

Beast Boy and Cyborg was hanging onto the couch for dear life since it was the only piece of furniture not flying around. It had been superglued to the floor as an anti-escape mechanism.

Starfire floated in the doorway, not knowing what to do.

Robin lifted his head up and yelled, "You have to take Raven to the containment room!"

Starfire couldn't believe her ears. There had to be more they could do to help than simply locking Raven up.

Robin seemed to follow her thoughts because he shouted, "Star, we'll help her, but we can't let anyone get hurt! It's what Raven would want!"

He was right. There was no other choice. Starfire flew into the tornado fighting against the intense winds. She scooped up Raven's body. The empath felt very light and fragile. The tendrils of black energy were slicing through her amber skin, but Starfire resolutely ignored the pain.

"It will be all right," Starfire said, knowing that she could not be heard over the screaming. She flew down the stairwells toward the foundation of the Tower.

The containment room had originally been constructed as a holding cell for the most dangerous metahuman imaginable. One so dangerous that they couldn't be held in regular City facilities. The walls were made of the strongest metal known to man and its strength was reinforced by Martian and Kryptonian technology. Theoretically, the room could hold Superman himself for at least a limited time.

When the team got together, Raven requested that the room be used if her powers ever got out of control.

It was a struggle, but Starfire finally got Raven into the room. The dark girl had settled down and stopped screaming, but her face was still contorted in anguish.

Starfire said softly, "Raven, I must leave you now, but I promise that we will do everything we can to help you. Please remain strong."

Raven hugged herself desperately and mumbled, "I will stop him... I promise..."

Though she did not know the 'him' that her friend was referring to, Starfire replied, "I know you will."

Starfire walked over toward the door and paused at the entrance. She looked back at Raven who seemed so small and distressed and knew that she could not simply leave her there.

One well-placed starbolt to the controls brought the massive door down, sealing Starfire and Raven inside.

Raven's eyes momentarily turned purple again in panic. "You can't be here! I have to completely release my powers to burn out the virus. You'll be hurt!"

As if in response to her turmoil, a black storm of energy erupted from her body and slammed Starfire against the wall.

With a burst of effort, Raven drew the dark energy back. She panted, "You have to get out of here, Starfire!"

"I can not," Starfire replied, getting to her feet. "And even if I could, I would not. I know what I am doing, Raven. As Val-Yor said, my people can withstand hostile conditions. I am not leaving you."

To the alien's great surprise, Raven actually began to sob. "It hurts... it hurts so much... I don't want you to see me like this... I don't want to hurt you..."

Following her instincts, Starfire crossed the space between her and Raven in less than a second and wrapped her arms around her friend. She said, "I do not care if I am hurt and I will never think less of you. I know how much you value your control. I was once in your body and I know what happens when you lose that control. But if you do not do so now, you will die and I do not wish that. Please, Raven, just let go."

Raven released a deep sigh then everything turned black. The wind howled and the walls vibrated as if struck by a hundred bombs. Raven's body suddenly felt like the inside of the sun and Starfire's skin began to blister and burn.

Starfire simply closed her eyes and gripped Raven tighter.

An eternity passed inside the darkness then Starfire's ears popped. She opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. The supposedly invulnerable walls and ceiling was riddled with dents and gouges.

A weary voice below her said, "You can let go of me now."

"Friend Raven, you are okay!" Starfire squealed, crushing Raven to her in a hug. In doing so, she also aggravated her burns. "Owie!"

"Same here," Raven gasped. "I would thank you for staying, but I'm afraid you'll smother me to death."

Starfire loosened her grip then noticed that Raven's leotard was in tatters. Her own purple clothes were hardly decent themselves. Starfire giggled. "If the boys were to come in right now, we could make a fortune!"

"You've been watching Friends again, haven't you?" Raven droned. Her eyes flickered with amusement though.

_"I'll be there for you!" _Starfire sang.

Raven groaned.

* * *

"ACHOO!"

Raven had healed Starfire's injuries, but she could not eliminate the alien girl's newfound illness. This was no artificially created disease though. This was simply the collapse of the immune system brought about by stress and lack of sleep.

The now healthy Titans were in her room keeping her company. Beast Boy and Cyborg had dragged in a small television and their Gamestation and were playing one of their numerous racing games. Raven was sitting against the bed while reading a novel.

Robin sat on the edge of Starfire's bed and was taking her temperature. He looked at the thermometer and whistled in amazement. "Whew, Star. I'm surprised you haven't combusted." Then perhaps realizing that wasn't the most tactful thing to say, Robin quickly asked, "Is there anything that we can do for you?"

"There is one thing..."

Cyborg paused the game and turned his head toward her. "Go ahead, Star."

Starfire pulled her pink blanket over her head and said, sounding embarrassed, "Please, friends, do not take offense, but I am tired of seeing your faces."

Cyborg blinked. "Now, I just don't know what to say."

Beast Boy shrugged. "I'm not offended. Raven's told me to buzz off so many times that the words have lost all meaning."

"That's not surprising considering that you already don't know the meaning of most words," Raven replied.

"Why I oughta..."

"Guys, take this outside," Robin interrupted, standing out and ushering the team into the hallway. He turned back to Starfire with a smile. "Get some rest. You've earned it."

And so Starfire of the Teen Titans AKA Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran went into her long awaited slumber.

* * *

NEXT: Starfire experiences her first Halloween.

Author's Notes

I really like the idea of Starfire and Raven being friends, so I guess that's why I keep putting them together in scenes. I'll to balance things out in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: First Halloween

It was Starfire's first Halloween. Naturally, there was some culture shock.

"So we are to dress up in costumes?" Starfire asked Beast Boy. "Do we not already do that?"

"That's different!" Beast Boy insisted. "Uh, how do I explain this?"

But Starfire had already moved onto her next question. "If I understand you correctly, people can simply come to our door and demand that we give them food? That seems rather rude. What right do they have to demand free stuff from people they do not even know?"

Beast Boy scratched his head. "Well, that is pretty strange... Wait a minute. You're missing the point!"

"I do not comprehend this Hollow Ween," Starfire said sadly. "You must think me obtuse."

"No, Starfire, we think that Beast Boy is obtuse," Raven replied.

"Hey!" the changeling sputtered in outrage. Then he rubbed his chin in thought. "Uh, what does 'obtuse' mean?"

"You're just lacking some knowledge," Raven continued without missing a beat. "Halloween, or All Hallows Eve as it was originally called, was an important date on the Catholic calendar. It was a time to observe and honor saints. In those times, people believed that the souls of the dead came back to Earth to visit their friends and family."

"That is good," Starfire said, smiling.

"These disembodied spirits would seek out living bodies to possess for the following year."

"Oh, that is bad."

"On the night of October 31, people would extinguish the fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They would also dress up in ghoulish costumes and make noisy parades to frighten off the spirits."

Starfire stared at Raven blankly.

"This is good," Raven informed her.

The empath drew her cloak around her. "Over the centuries, people became less believing in the supernatural, but they still enjoyed dressing up as hobgoblins, ghosts, witches, and so on."

"But, Raven, we know that ghosts do exists," Starfire said in a worried tone. "Is it not irresponsible of us to par-tay when there is such danger?"

Raven looked taken back.

"Ha, you confused her too! Who's obese now?" Beast Boy cried, pointing at the dark girl.

There was a chilling silence.

"Uh, BB, you just said Raven was fat," Cyborg said nervously.

Beast Boy looked confused then terrified when he saw four red, glowing eyes. Dodging black orbs of energy, he ran from the room screaming, "I'm too young to die!"

Robin took the seat that Raven just vacated. He said, "Star, you don't have to worry about ghosts. We don't see too many of them these days and I'd think that if a ghost was visiting his parents, the last thing he'd want to do would be to possess them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Starfire said.

"Besides," Robin continued. "Any hostile spirits out there will just have to get in line behind the super villains, killer robots, and unfriendly extraterrestrials that will probably attack the Tower tonight."

"Robin, being pessimistic is my thing," Raven scolded as she came back into the room dragging a charred and crispy green boy behind her.

She turned to Starfire and said, "Anyway, the Halloween traditions that we have today were brought to America by Irish immigrants in the 1840s..."

"History blah blah satanic rituals blah blah blah. You're making everything too complicated!" Beast Boy cried, leaping to his feet and ignoring Raven's deadly glare. "The true meaning of Halloween is going out dressed as someone or something you're not and getting free candy from people."

Starfire brightened. "I think I understand. We must conceal our identities when we go out and steal sugared treats from the unarmed and helpless populace!"

Beast Boy stared at her in bewilderment. "You have a talent for making any Earth tradition sound sinister and evil, do you know that?"

"Thank you?"

"I think she has the basic idea," Robin said. "Starfire, just dress up as someone you admire. For some bizarre reason, children enjoy dressing up as superheroes. Or you can go as someone you've seen on tv or in the movies. Speaking of which, I have to go pick up my costume. See you guys soon."

Robin whirled and with a flutter of his cape, he was gone.

Cyborg snapped his fingers. "I need a cape! I knew I forgot something." He quickly followed in Robin's direction.

"What are you going as, Raven?" Starfire asked.

"I don't do Halloween," Raven replied curtly.

"That's your answer for everything!" Beast Boy complained.

* * *

The Teen Titans would go out trick-or-treating later that night about the time they would go out for nightly patrols, but in the meantime, they would throw a party for the City's kids where they could eat and have fun in peace.

The top of the Tower and the Titans' rooms would be off-limits of course, but the young children and the teenagers would each have their own floor to enjoy.

Beast Boy had taken a final check over the decorations and deemed the Tower to be horrifying. Starfire, who had been following him around reading Internet printouts about Halloween, had been disappointed to discover that the team had no plans to hold a séance in the local cemetery or to summon a demon from the netherworlds.

An hour later, the parties downstairs were already in full swing and the Titans would join them in another few minutes. Anyone who couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of the Titans was welcome to walk up the stairwell and knock on the door for candy. No one had yet done so though.

Beast Boy slouched on the couch in the Main Room flipping through channels while waiting for his friends to show up.

"Cooking show... game show... soap opera... what the-?"

"FROM THE PRODUCERS WHO BROUGHT YOU FREDDY VS JASON AND JASON X, WE BRING YOU FREDDY VS JASON: IN SPACE!"

"Now, that's just stupid," Beast Boy muttered, turning off the television.

Suddenly, speakers lowered from the ceiling and blew Beast Boy across the room with the music of the _Imperial March_.

It is better known as the theme song for-

"Darth Vader!" Beast Boy shouted. "Awesome!"

The Sith Lord otherwise known as Cyborg walked into the room wearing the trademark helmet and a long, flowing black cape behind him. His normally blue and white armor was now a midnight black and while Cyborg would not pass for Vader upon close examination, his cybernetic body made him imposing enough that one was willing to overlook that.

The familiar deep, regulated, wheezy breathing resonated from the helmet.

Beast Boy blinked. "Great impression, man!"

Cyborg yanked off his helmet and gasped for breath. "It's not an impression! I was suffocating because I forgot to put air holes in!"

Beast Boy laughed. Then he said, "You better fix that because you can't go around without the helmet. No offense, dude, but you're the wrong color to play Anakin."

"Vader should have been black and you know it!" Cyborg shouted, shaking his fist at the other teen. Then he settled down and smiled. "I can make air holes easily enough. Check this out. The Jedi would have killed for _this_!"

His right arm shifted into his sonic cannon and charged up. But what came out wasn't the familiar energy blast but instead was a thin stream of blue light that tapered off into a point. It looked extremely familiar...

"Oh my God! You have a lightsaber built into your arm!" Beast Boy shrieked like a fangirl.

"Behold the power of the Force!" Cyborg boomed. "And my kickass tech skills!"

"That's a nice looking sword you got there," a Spanish-accented voice said from the shadows. "But I find it is not what the weapon is made of that matters, but the skill of the one who wields it."

Dressed entirely in black, the masked man strolled in the light, his scabbard banging against his hip. He threw his cape back and gave a deep bow. He said, "Diego de la Vega at your service. But you may call me Zorro."

Cyborg shifted his arm back to normal then slapped the Boy Wonder on the back. "Great accent, man. For a second, I thought Mas and Menos learned English then stopped by the Tower!"

"Thanks, I've been working on it," Robin replied in his regular voice.

Beast Boy sighed then pointed to the white lenses of Robin's mask. "Dude, you'll really do anything to keep the mask on, won't you? Are you like hideously scarred or something?"

Robin frowned.

"So speaks the green boy with pointed ears," a bored voice said from behind them.

"At least I have nothing to hide," Beast Boy retorted, turning around. His eyes widened. "Raven! You were supposed to dress up!"

Raven's violet eyes peered at him from under her hood. She replied, "I'm Little Red Riding Hood."

"Your cloak's blue!"

"Nothing gets past you," Raven said, rolling her eyes. She looked the other boy over. "Why are you wearing a trench coat? Are you going as Dick Tracy?"

Beast Boy was wearing a nondescript coat and hat and he looked more like a would-be flasher than anything else. Raven had commented because the get-up was way too subdued for the jokester. There had to be a catch.

The young superhero grinned widely. "No, I just have a surprise. You know how difficult it is to work with my look? So I have decided to work with my greenness. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the one, the only...

"MARTIAN MANHUNTER!"

Beast Boy threw off his coat, revealing blue trunks, a cape, and criss-crossed red suspenders enclosing his scrawny frame.

"Must... scrub image... off... retina," Raven groaned.

Beast Boy turned his nose up at her. "You're just jealous of my awesome physique."

Raven opened her mouth then paused for a moment. "Nah... too easy."

Cyborg and Robin fell against each other laughing while Beast Boy glowered at Raven.

"Can we get this over with? I have other things to do. Like drown myself in the bathtub."

The boys stared automatically at Raven, but she hadn't spoken...

Coming in from the hallway was the first Tamaranian goth. Starfire floated into the room wearing a short-haired purple wig, a leotard, and a cloak. The strangest thing of all was that the normally smiling alien had a blank, emotionless expression.

Robin's eyes widened so much that even through a mask it was obvious. "Whoa, that's quite a costume, Star."

"Where'd you get it?" Cyborg asked. "Don't tell me you went into _Raven's_ room?"

Starfire dropped the façade for a second and smiled. "Amazingly, there is a shop in the city that was selling Teen Titans costumes." She scratched her side. "They are neither as comfortable nor as durable as our actual uniforms, but I could not resist."

"Do Raven again!" Beast Boy demanded.

Starfire just glared silently at him with a look of barely concealed irritation.

Beast Boy looked between her and Raven and shuddered. "That's scary."

Robin shook off his surprise. "Okay, team, let's go over our entrance plan again."

Cyborg groaned. "Will you unclench for one night? Nobody's going to care how we show up."

Robin glared and the two were soon yelling at each other. Beast Boy then yelled at them to stop ruining Halloween.

Starfire pulled Raven off to the side and looked at her worriedly. "You do not seem pleased."

Raven actually wasn't sure what she was. She knew Starfire didn't mean anything insulting by dressing up as her. The very idea was ridiculous. She said slowly, "I'm not mad. Just confused."

"Robin told me that it was acceptable to wear the garb of a hero I respected," Starfire said.

"But why... me?"

Starfire stared warmly at her. "Because I admire you greatly. There are many heroes that I respect, but there are none that I believe have made the sacrifices you have. You are a hero every second of every day. More so than even Robin. You fight your very self to keep the world safe. I wished to pay homage to that for one night."

For once, Raven was at a loss for words. Then her lips curved into a slight smile. "Thank you, Starfire. But you don't have to _act_ like me the entire night. The party would be lacking without your unique... enthusiasm."

Starfire nodded happily. Then her brow furrowed. "Raven, I do not wish to be ahead of you..."

"Forward," Raven corrected automatically.

"But I believe that it would be strange for there to be two Ravens at the par-tay."

Raven shifted uncomfortably. "I've never been much for celebrating."

"Please have fun with your friends, Raven. These are moments to forget your troubles for just a little while and cherish what you have."

"I suppose, but it's too late to find a costume," Raven replied. She actually looked a little let down.

"I have a costume that you will like. You said once that it made you feel 'cool.'" Starfire leaned over and whispered into Raven's ear.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "That _would_ be amusing. Very well. I'll be back shortly." She enveloped herself in shadow and vanished.

DING-DONG!

The sound of the bell broke up the fighting. Robin made a move for the door, but Starfire beat him to it.

She opened the door to the stairwell and smiled the group standing on the other side. "Greetings, young ones! How may I help you?"

"Trick or treat!" the kids chorused.

"Very well," Starfire said agreeably. She pointed over their heads. "Look, a slumbering snorvax!"

The kids looked.

"Ha, I have tricked you!" Starfire cried. "Have a happy holiday!"

Then she shut the door and flew into the kitchen for a drink. Robin quickly opened the door again and passed out candy while apologizing.

He came back a few minutes later. "Let's get going. Where's Raven?"

"Is this where I say, 'Titans, Go?'"

Robin's jaw dropped when Raven strolled in wearing his crime fighting uniform. He quickly recovered and smirked. "You didn't get enough of wearing it while I was in Japan?"

Raven stood looking very snug in Robin's red and green tights. She crossed her arms and stared back, one mask to another. "What can I say? Peer pressure is a mighty force. But you can blame Starfire for my current attire."

Beast Boy clapped his hands. "Miss Grumpy finally decided to join the fun!"

Raven glanced at Robin. "You have anything in your belt that'll shut him up?"

"Third pocket from the right."

"You guys are _mean_!" Beast Boy whined.

"Robin, it is good to see you!" Starfire cried, appearing out of nowhere and hugging the faux-Robin tightly.

Raven struggled in the girl's iron grip. "Hey, let go! You're not acting very Raven-like!"

Starfire giggled. Then she gave a sideway glance at Cyborg. "It seems that while three of us are guised as 'the good guys,' there is a villain among us."

"I like to think of myself as an anti-hero," Cyborg replied in a humored tone. "I'm not evil. I'm just misunderstood. But enough chit-chat. Let's get this party started!"

* * *

The Teen Titans went back and forth between the two party floors every half hour, so no one would miss out on meeting their heroes. There were even planned activities such as carving jack-o-lanterns (Starfire tried to use her eyebeams to carve a pumpkin, which exploded and covered everyone in pumpkin guts. The kids thought it was hilarious, of course.), bobbing for apples (Beast Boy cheated by changing into an elephant and sucking up all the apples in one gulp), and other Halloween-themed traditions.

The party had been going for about four hours now and everyone had settled down into their desired activities. The teenagers were dancing, the parents were sitting at tables and talking, and the younger kids were watching the 'Martian Manhunter' fight 'Darth Vader.'

And Raven? She was currently in a dark hallway telling horror stories to anyone brave enough to listen. The stories were horrifying enough though without Raven also using her powers to send all but the hardiest souls running back to the safety of the ballrooms.

Starfire watched all these ongoings from her current station behind the punchbowl. She had chatted amiably with a group of girls for about ten minutes before they had wandered to the next room to see the showing of _Carrie_ that Cyborg had set up.

"So what do you think of Halloween so far?" Robin asked, walking up to the refreshments table.

"It is most wonderful," Starfire replied, looking fondly at the masked man. "We do not have anything like this on my world, and at first, I was a little hesitant to celebrate horror and mayhem. But I can see this is all in the spirit of friendship and camaraderie."

Starfire then bit her lip and drew a box out from under the table. "I wish for you to have this, Robin."

"Thanks, Star, but we don't normally give presents on Halloween," Robin replied, taking the plain black box with a smile. He lifted the top.

A bloody hand jumped out at him.

"ARGH!" Robin cried, falling backwards.

"Happy Halloween!" Starfire yelled happily. "Beast Boy informed me that it was customary to scare one's friends this day and he helped me set up the jumping hand."

"Remind me to thank BB," Robin said through a strained smile while he got to his feet. "When April 1st comes around, be sure to talk to me first."

Robin cleared his throat. "I've been meaning to tell you that I think you look very nice tonight."

Starfire glanced at him. "I will be sure to tell Raven that you think she is pretty."

"What? No! I was talking about – you misunderstood..." Robin babbled.

Starfire giggled. "I know, Robin. You look good as well."

Robin shook his head with a rueful smile. "You're certainly in a joking mood tonight." He looked around the room. "I have to admit that things are going better than I thought. It's been fun."

"So you no longer think we will be attacked by super villains, killer robots, and unfriendly extraterrestrials?" Starfire asked innocently.

Robin chuckled. "I doubt it."

The two stood together listening to the music and just enjoying the moment.

And in the end, though the Tower did end up being attacked by an extraterrestrial killer robot with superpowers, the Titans had a good time overall.

* * *

Author's Notes

Just a few things. Fanfic writer Post made Cyborg a Star Wars fan and I just couldn't resist incorporating that idea. The episode of 'The Quest' was obviously the inspiration for Raven's costume. Robin as Zorro was a reference to Batman's origins. I thought Starfire as Raven would be cute. As for Beast Boy, I have _no_ idea where that twisted idea came from.


End file.
